Prasa broke the law by allowing passengers onto new locomotives – DA
PRASA needs to be sanctioned for such a gross violation and acting outside the law. Such recklessness cannot go unpunished," he added - MP Manny de Freitas.
JOHANNESBURG SOUTH – Following the Booysens train collision on the night of Friday July 17, the Democratic Alliance (DA) Johannesburg South Member of Parliament, Manny de Freitas informed the Southern COURIER that the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) broke the law by allowing passengers on the new Afro 4000 locomotives without being issued the requisite licenses from the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR).
It was revealed on Thursday October 15 in the Portfolio Committee of Transport that the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) contravened section 22 of the National Railway Safety Regulator Act (NRSRA) by allowing passengers on the new Afro 4000 locomotives without being issued the requisite licenses from the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR).
“Indeed Section 22 of the NRSRA stipulates that “railway undertakings requiring safety permit. First, A person may not undertake any railway operation or a component of a railway operation without being in possession of an applicable safety permit,” said MP Manny de Freitas.
MP de Freitas informed the COURIER that the dictates of appropriate protocol prescribes that only once the RSR is satisfied with the safety of the locomotives passengers may then be loaded onto locomotives and that Prasa carried helpless passengers in these trains without safety permits at potential risk to human life.
“The regulator, in fact, only granted “test” clearance certificates to the trains, whereas, in order to carry passengers, they should have “operational” certificates. An operational certificate is only granted when the RSR is completely convinced that the locomotive is safe. After the recent accident, it is clear that these trains are unsafe and hazardous to the lives of South Africans,” said MP de Freitas.
MP de Freitas recommends that PRASA needs to be sanctioned for such a gross violation and acting outside the law. “Such recklessness cannot go unpunished,” he added.
Comment from Prasa will be published.
